Shao Khan, of course, heals from the attack, but Liu Kang does not give up, resulting in an intense fight between the two. However, the climax of the fight, in which Liu Kang either loses or perhaps sacrifices himself to take on another form, feels like a set-up for the next sequel and undercuts everything that came before.
Sonya Blade vs Sindel
Sonya spent the first Mortal Kombat in a supporting role, gathering fighters to defend Earthrealm but unable to join the tournament because she lacked the special mark (which Johnny Cage doesn’t need, apparently). Mortal Kombat II had to make up for lost time by giving Sonya a chance to absolutely dominate an opponent, so as soon as Sindel was chosen, we all thought the same thing: too bad she will die.
And die Sindel does. Ana Thu Nguyen struts around like the last actor to portray Sindel in live action, but this is all Jessica McNamee’s time to shine as Sonya. She dodges around the spikes shooting up from the floor, she uses her energy rings to counter sonic screams, and she gets to execute one of the film’s gnarliest fatalities. Not only does Sonya blow a hole through Sindel’s body, but she shoves her opponent’s head on a spike, watching what little life there was fade away as the head slides down. Sonya wins, indeed.
Johnny Cage vs Baraka
Intimidating though he may look, the Tarkatan Baraka exists largely as a jobber in the MK universe. So when he goes up against Johnny Cage for the latter’s second mostly comedic fight, the pairing works better than it did with Kitana. Even the first half of the battle, which once again consists of Johnny running away and doing bits.
However, two things elevate this fight over Johnny’s previous one with Kitana. First, there’s CJ Bloomfield’s committed performance as Baraka, playing him both as a dangerous killer demon and as an excited fanboy. Second, there’s the fact that Johnny rediscovers his fighting ability, leading to some incredible shots of him leaping around, building to a classic Nutkracker. Absolutely unserious, but absolutely fitting within the MK world.
Shao Kahn vs Jerrod
Jerrod isn’t anyone’s favorite character. He’s not even playable, making him less important than Hsu Hao or Striker. And yet, the battle between Shao Kahn and King Jerrod that opens the film kind of rules.
